Ashley
by Dango-san
Summary: The last coat I wore in Aincrad, the Blackwyrm Coat, was custom-made by a player named Ashley. I'd tell you about her, but... she's a difficult person to describe.
1. Chapter 1

The Blackwyrm Coat, the black leather coat that I wore, wasn't only the strongest piece of light armor I've ever wore, I was also quite fond of how it looked on me. It was player-made by a girl named Ashley, widely renowned as Aincrad's best tailor.

I'd tell you about her, but…

No, it's not like there's anything dangerous stopping me from doing so, and I remember everything clearly. It's just that… she's a difficult person to describe.

You could call her strange. That's certainly what you'd think the moment you see her, but it's a different story once you do get to know her.

Shy and timid, but somehow fiery and violent, maybe even hysterical. Incredibly childish, but at times easily way more mature than I'll ever be. Sometimes clingy and affectionate, other times cold and even genuinely threatening. I don't know. Maybe it's a girl thing.

Well, if there's any word to describe her, it'd be "unpredictable."

While I got the coat from her some time before I met Lisbeth, I actually met Ashley half a year earlier before that.

* * *

January 2024, 50th floor

The Black Swordsman, Kirito, was on his way to his nightly sessions of grinding experience when he found a hooded figure waiting by the entrance to the dungeon.

They seemed suspicious, and Kirito kept his head down as he neared the entrance, hoping that it wasn't him the hooded figure had been waiting for, for whatever reason. Sharp eyes flashed towards him as he came close.

Kirito breathed easier once he got past, and was about to open the door to the dungeons when he felt a light tug on his coat. He instinctively froze, then slowly looked back to see the hooded figure tugging at him.

The figure gasped, and let go of his coat. Fidgeted, looked around, evidently unsure of what to do.

"P-party with me," a soft voice finally said. Barely audible, but Kirito was sure it was a girl's voice coming from beneath the lowered hood.

Kirito spent a few moments of silence in response to her request, before turning back to the door and walking awa—

A hand tugging on his coat. Kirito doesn't look back. "That was a no, if you hadn't figured that out," he told her. No—he can't party with anyone. _That_ was still fresh in his mind. The events on Christmas Eve continued to haunt him and confuse him. _She_ might not feel the same as he did, but Kirito can't forgive himself. Neither does he know if he'd ever be able to.

But…

Two hands tugging on his coat.

Kirito closed his eyes, and sighed. "No," he said before pulling himself free from the girl and entering the dungeon.

He was ready to feel heavy-hearted about rejecting the girl, but then he heard the sound of the dungeon door opening—and received a flying kick to his back.

Kirito found himself with barely the time to yelp in surprise as he flies face-first into the wall before him. He immediately turned back to see the girl kneeling down before him, pouting beneath her hood even as she grabbed him by the collars. "Party with me," she said in a more determined voice, eyeing him.

"A-alright, I'll party with you," Kirito reluctantly replied, sweat dripping off his cheek. It was hard to take his eyes off the girl's purple ones. Their beauty aside, Kirito couldn't read anything from them, and it was a bit unsettling.

The girl dropped him and fiddled with her menu. The invitation window came up in front of Kirito. He looked at it, then back at the girl. Clearly, he wasn't fond of the idea. He quickly accepted the invitation when the girl looked back at him, pouting.

The girl's HP bar appeared beneath his, along with her display name: Ashley.

"So… Ashley," Kirito called as he lifted himself up, "why did you need to party with me?"

Ashley was looking away, silent.

Kirito answered her silence with silence, so they stood there for several moments… in silence.

"H—"

"A-Argo said you, the Black Swordsman, could help me," she finally said.

Argo? That Rat… she knew he was a solo player. He didn't know what she told this girl, but she should know he wasn't very keen on being with people.

Kirito almost sighed. "Help you with what?" He couldn't possibly imagine what he—he exactly—could do for this girl that others couldn't.

"T-there's a secret room in this dungeon—I… I found it two days ago," she looked back to Kirito, suddenly eager. "There has to be something nice in there, right?"

Something nice… probably something dangerous, too. "Then just bring a party—why do you need me?"

"Because it only allows two people in—and you're strong."

Kirito's eyes twitched. "You know, it being a secret part of the dungeon and all, there's a high chance that it's also really dangerous." The part of allowing only two people in… it's the first he's ever heard of it, too.

"T-that's why I'm asking you!" Ashley neared him, and grabbed his hands. "I'm curious about it!" she exclaimed, looking up at him, her hood falling off to reveal long, lustrous black hair that framed her beautiful white face.

Those sharp purple eyes were twinkling, and she gave off the impression of chilling beauty, were it not for the light freckles, which actually served to make her look… rather cute.

Kirito blushed and looked away. "Curiosity isn't a good enough reason."

Ashley saw her hands holding the Black Swordsman's in her own, gasped softly and let go of them, clasped hers together, and turned away, suddenly back to being timid.

Kirito was just… confused now.

"I… I'll make it worth your while," she mutters softly.

What… WHAT.

Ashley unclasped the hook keeping her hooded cloak on, and it slowly slid off her shoulders, revealing a lithe, fragile-looking body, slender and attractive. A simple white cardigan over a black shirt, a white miniskirt, and black stockings covering slim legs, all fashionable-looking, and would impress people even in the real world.

Kirito covered his face in an attempt to hide how red it is. "Wh-wha-what are you doing!?" he stuttered in a panic.

Ashley looked at him questioningly. "I'm giving you this cloak," she said, handing it to him, folded properly. She seemed to smile then, and looked away sheepishly. "I… I made it myself."

Kirito sighed loudly, mostly in release of his panic. Partly because apparently this girl thinks that a cloak she made herself would be enough of a proper price. He was about to point that out when—

She was pouting again. A hand on her hip as the other jabbed the cloak at him. "HEY. What's with that doubting look?" she started, voice edgy. "Are you underestimating my tailoring skill?" Just how random of a personality can someone have? She's angry now!

"W… what if I am?" Kirito weakly muttered.

Ashley closed the distance between them and grabbed his collar. "I'll have you know I already maxed out my tailoring skill," she said, "AND this cloak is made from rare spider silk from the last floor boss!" She let go of him, almost throwing him back. "It's WAY better than that…" she eyed him from head to toe. "That… th—coat you're wearing."

"You were about to say something bad about my coat, weren't you?" Kirito retorted before sighing. This girl had been giving him a lot of reasons to sigh ever since he met here just minutes ago. "Besides…" he looks away, a hand on his shoulder, as if massaging a cramp, "cloaks aren't my style."

Ashley blinked. "Oh, is that so?" She smiled. "I'll still make it worth your while," she said again.

Kirito looked back at her, not sure of what to expect as she puts on her cloak again, leaving the hood down.

"I'll make you a coat from the best materials I have. Something that fits you and would look really good on you."

Kirito sighed again, giving up. Ashley obviously had no intentions of backing down or letting him go. "I hope you're prepared for this."

Ashley gave a bright smile in her apparent victory. "I'm ready. Don't worry about me, I can fight really good."

"No," Kirito immediately replied.

The girl suddenly gave him a serious look. "No… By 'no,' you mean…?"

"No." Kirito didn't back down from her almost intimidating look, his black pupils staring directly at her purple eyes, his expression grim. "It'll be dangerous. Stay behind my back, hide whenever something appears; I'll do the fighting."

Her face started to shift towards an angry expression again. Kirito sighed when it subsided, but then suddenly—

"YOU'RE MAKING ME MAD. WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM—"

"NO!" Kirito yelled back. The next thing he knew was Ashley grabbing him by the collar again, her face furious.

But no matter how fiery she is, Kirito refused to back down.

Those memories could only keep haunting him, and he didn't want another. He really didn't want another such memory.

_Her_ words echo through his mind even now, and his heart felt tight, his fists clenched at the memory. "No," he said again, determined to stand by his conditions. If she wasn't willing to go by them, then she could go look for someone else to party with.

Ashley growled, violently let go of his collar, then walked past him.

Before Kirito could ask what she was doing, he was being dragged by the back of his collar back outside the dungeon.

"H—," he started when they were outside, but was interrupted when a window appeared before him. It wasn't a window asking to disband the party like he expected.

Accept duel: Y/N?

Her purple eyes looked at him expectantly, her expression serious.

Fine. If this was how she wanted to play it.

The Black Swordsman pressed the button to accept the request for a duel, and selected the First Strike Mode in the following menu.

The 60 second timer appeared, and Kirito drew the one-handed sword strapped on his back, raising it high, taking up his stance. Ashley, however, made no such move, not even bothering to take up a stance.

"Don't look at me like that," she said in response to Kirito's scrutinizing look, and she was still angry as implied by her voice. "I don't need a stance."

That's… ridiculous. But if that was how she wanted to be, Kirito couldn't really tell her otherwise. If he could, he wouldn't be in this situation right now.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

0! Kirito didn't waste any time, activating a Sword Skill even as he dashed forward with great speed, determined to finish this as quickly as possible.

A glowing slash down. Ashley sidesteps, and dodges it cleanly. The next horizontal slash barely managed to do otherwise, Ashley twirling on her feet and dodging yet another slash from Kirito. She lashes out with her foot—something no one really expected anyone to do in SAO—and caught Kirito off-guard, hurtling away quite a distance away.

While the impact was still there, unarmed attacks generally did no damage in the world of SAO, except for a select few Skills if one had either Hand to Hand Combat or Martial Arts equipped. Ashley's kick, however, was no Skill, and dealt no damage, so Kirito dashed back towards her again, barely slowed.

It almost cost him his victory, though. Just as he neared her, she dashed forward as well, and he saw something gleaming from her left. Kirito immediately threw his head forward, narrowly avoiding something that would've cut through his head. He rolled forward, and saw Ashley close to him, twirling on her feet, that gleam catching his eyes once more.

Kirito brought his sword up and threw himself backwards. He didn't hear anything clash with his blade, but rather received a light scratch on his cheek. Ashley drew back, spinning on her heels. Her hand moved in intricate motions, and something flashing, gleaming in the moonlight whirled around her, following her movements as she drew back.

The gleam disappeared, and Ashley stopped to look at Kirito. It was hard to see, but she was definitely holding something like the handle of the sword before, but now she showed no signs of holding a weapon in her hands. "You have incredible reaction time, Kirito-san."

"I didn't know there were any glass blades in SAO."

"Oh? Most people just assume I cheat," Ashley replied.

Kirito couldn't really deny what she just said.

While it was a surprise to him, Kirito didn't really find it unusual that there were glass blades in SAO. There were many different kinds of weapons in the game, and he could swear that each high-level weapon is unique to their owner. The one he held in his hand, the Black Blade, despite its incredibly simple and mundane name, was one of a kind.

The glass blade in Ashley's possession—Kirito wasn't sure if it was a dagger or a sword, as he couldn't see the blade—was undoubtedly the same. It was probably very light, and incredibly quick—so quick that it would've been practically impossible to follow its movements even if it weren't glass.

Remembering that gleam of moonlight, Kirito could swear that it matches Asuna's rapier—perhaps even faster.

Thin, and most definitely sharp. It might have only taken a small scratch on his cheek, but the glass blade had made an impressive hole in his HP bar, and his HP count was nothing small.

Of course, it had one glaring weakness. He didn't have to use too much brains to make up an answer for what it was: the glass blade had an incredibly low durability. The moment he blocks it with his sword, it would probably break, which is why Ashley had deliberately avoided clashing with it.

But the sword aside, it was something else that was unusual.

You can't possibly hide a weapon you have equipped. Of course, it's definitely possible to do so in real life, but the same can't be said in SAO. But there she was, hands without weapons, and no signs of a sheath anywhere. This, in addition with her lack of a stance, and the fact that her eyes were nigh unreadable, made her figure feel incredibly dangerous.

She was, just like her personality, unpredictable.

Kirito was almost prepared to take back his words of not letting her fight—but regardless of how well the cloaked girl could fight, Kirito wasn't intent on losing easily. No—this wasn't even about letting Ashley fight in the dungeon or not. He wanted to win this.

"You have it, don't you?"

Ashley tilted her head questioningly.

"A Unique Skill."

"I could ask the same of you, Kirito-san," Ashley smiled. She put a hand to her chest. "Shurikenjutsu. It appeared in my Skills menu around November last year." Ashley looked at his face, looked away, hid her hands behind her back, and suddenly turned away, exposing her cloaked back to Kirito. "As you might have guessed, it allows me to conceal weapons.

"As for you, you have a one-handed straight sword—a weapon whose greatest advantage is the ability to wield a shield on the side." She hums. "It's not like a rapier, which foregoes the shield in favor of speed."

Kirito gave another sigh. Seriously, this girl had given him nothing but sighs. He raised his empty hand, and went through his menu. "That's right," he said as he tapped that Skill on his menu. Glowing polygons gathered on his back, and another sheath materialized, complete with another sword that Kirito drew. "Dual Wield."

Ashley looked back at him, and smiled. "Are you ready to start this duel in earnest, Kirito-san?" she wasn't angry anymore, she actually almost sounded eager.

Kirito took up his stance. "Yeah," Kirito replied, smiling himself as the cloaked girl turned to face him.

He kicked forward, his right sword glowing in activation of a Skill. Ashley lightly jumped backwards, dodging the downward strike, whirling in the air as she does so. She kept spinning, her confusing movements and unusual style giving Kirito a hard time as she counterattacked.

The invisible blade flashed towards Kirito, who couldn't just put in minimum movement to narrowly dodge it and counterattack with a powerful Sword Skill when he gets into her range, as he cannot gauge the length of the blade.

He leapt back, and watched again as the twirling blade of flashing moonlight disappeared. It's the cloaked girl's style that confounded him, made it a lot harder to find an opening without risking his own hide.

Or perhaps…

Kirito dashed forward again, and activated a quick Dual Sword Skill. He whirled on his feet, the swords glowing in a circular motion around him. As he thought she would, Ashley spins as she lowers herself down on the ground to dodge the first cut, a small whirling step back for the second cut, and then there comes the dreaded gleam of moonlight.

Rather than retreat, Kirito kept moving forward, his swords flashing.

The invisible blade slightly nicked his neck, but immediately draws back before the two swords met it, and Kirito stepped forward, making sure to keep close with the retreating cloaked girl, who almost looked shock at his reckless move. Had the blade been any longer than he thought, he might have lost then and there. And were it not a First Strike Mode duel, which would make sure that the damage calculated will stop as soon as it reaches the yellow zone, he might have died.

Kirito made sure to keep up the pressure, and swung his left sword, right sword, sometimes together, sometimes in quick succession, but he didn't relent. Ashley evaded each of his attacks with her ballerina-like movements, but rarely found the time to counterattack. Whenever she did find it, she managed only a scratch, not the direct hit required to win the duel. Kirito's high Battle Healing skill assured that he wouldn't reach the yellow zone any time soon, either.

And then, it seemed Kirito's relentless attacking finally produced a result, no matter how little. His right sword made a light scratch to her cheek, shearing off just a bit more than a fourth of her HP bar.

Her HP stat must be very low, since her armor, even as light cloth armor, are of definitely high quality, and should protect her from so much damage.

_Just one more!_ Kirito yelled in his mind as he sped up his whirlwind of attacks.

Ashley moved to swing her blade—this was it! He could break that weapon now! His left sword glowed green, and flashed to meet that invisible glass blade—shatter it, break it. But nothing happened, the sword stuck to the ground. Ashley rolled past him, this time, that gleam of moonlight flashing towards Kirito's open back.

Kirito almost never made it, but he dodged that attack, letting go of his left sword in the process. His retreat was rudely interrupted by a kick to the face, and the Black Swordsman tumbled backwards clumsily, quickly got his feet under him, raised his sword—and saw Ashley's purple eyes, and that gleam of moonlight scything towards him.

The duel ended then, the timer indicating that it lasted for 10 minutes and 43 seconds.

His back to a tree, Kirito sighed as he slid onto the ground. "That was a feint," he sighed, "I can't believe I fell for it." There was no flash of moonlight—really, he shouldn't have fell for it.

Ashley, the victor, tossed him an HP potion, and sat next to him. She wasn't looking at his direction, and Kirito can only guess on what's in her mind, or how she'll phrase her next words.

Or… maybe not, as she remained silent even after Kirito finished drinking the potion.

Curious, Kirito stretched to look at her face. Ashley's head sleepily leaned onto his shoulder.

Kirito sighed again. A weary sigh, but he smiled soon after, poking the girl's cheek.

* * *

Afterword:

Hello, hello! I am Dango, and this is my first SAO fanfic, but actually not the first I planned-

Anyway, this story is about Ashley, who isn't actually an OC... well, mostly. She's mentioned in name as the best tailor in Aincrad, and the one who crafted the Blackwyrm Coat. She has a shop three times larger than Lisbeth's, and it's name is "Ashley's." This chapter is before that, though-at least, before she becomes known as the best tailor in Aincrad. Her policy is to only take custom jobs that interest her. That's about it-everything else is not canon.

I've taken some liberties with the SAO system, such as with the First Strike Mode, and with the Unique Skills. Apart from Holy Sword and Dual Wield, the rest should've been released by the 90th floor, but that's not interesting at all isn't it?

Well then, I'll see you all next chapter, whatever it might be about or whenever it might be finished.


	2. Chapter 2

You know when I said that she's probably way more mature than I'll ever be?

Those are words that I struggle not to take back, as she's also the most childish person I've ever known. She knows what she wants, and she will get it. If she doesn't, she pouts. She throws tantrums and kicks people. I thought Asuna was violent, but she never did match up to this girl.

She's supposed to be in her early 20s (it took a while before I figured this out, as not only did she not act like it, she also looked to be around my age), but I'm sure Lisbeth—or even Silica—could teach her a thing or two about being mature. This doesn't change in the real world, either.

Anyway, after our duel, I had to carry her to an inn in the 50th floor, because she just refused to wake up. We went back into the dungeon when morning came.

* * *

January 2024, 50th floor

She's back to her timid self. Ashley made sure to stay some distance away from Kirito as they walked in an awkward silence. The occasional monster appeared to interrupt that awkward silence, but Kirito finished them off before the cloaked girl could do anything.

And so they just spent more walking moments in awkward silence.

…

Their footsteps echoed through the empty halls of the dungeon.

…

Kirito looked at the cloaked girl to find her looking back at him—she blinked, looked away quickly. His eyes narrowed, and he coughed. Ashley almost jumped, but otherwise kept silent.

Kirito fought another urge to sigh, and tried to think of something to break the silence.

"A… Ashley," he weakly called.

"Y-yes!?"

"What are you so jumpy about?" Kirito blurted out, though that was not what he meant to ask.

Ashley faced him, fidgeting, then looked away, turned around. "W-well…"

Kirito put a palm to his face, sighing. "A-anyway, I was curious about something."

She turned back to his direction, head tilting in curiosity.

"You didn't use any Sword Skills last night."

"O-oh…" Ashley pressed a finger to her lower lip, expression timid as she looked at the floor. "I… don't use Sword Skills in duels." She looked back up again. "I mean, don't they kind of make things look predictable?"

That's true. The colors of each respective glow aside, the assisting system assured that you only follow a set of movements—which you only have little control over. But anyone who would think they make things look predictable in a duel would be someone who knew those movements by heart.

"Is your glass blade a one-handed sword?" Kirito threw out a question.

Ashley smiled, and giggled. "I'm not about to tell you."

Well, it was worth a try. "Then, how about with monsters?"

"I think using Sword Skills on them should be fine. They're set to react to certain actions, but they don't really read your movements."

As if in cue, a humanoid-looking spider made its appearance, hissing.

Kirito pointed at that monster, making no move to draw his weapon. "Try it with that one, then."

Kirito felt a bit bad for using such a situation, but if she really was going to use a Sword Skill, the glass blade of her weapon would glow, and he'd be able to identify what kind of weapon it was that she used, and in addition, its length.

Ashley's cloak fluttered and she closed in on the spider in an instant. A thin silver sword—not the glass blade Kirito was looking for—appeared in her hand, which glowed blue before striking its target in three quick consecutive hits, finishing it off.

She turned to look at Kirito, and grinned.

"You… you really don't intend to do anything predictably, do you?" Kirito muttered.

The smile remains, and she raised a finger to her lips, winking uncharacteristically.

Kirito couldn't help but chuckle, giving up, and they walked the rest of the way towards that secret room. She made herself easier to deal with this time, something Kirito found himself grateful for.

They eventually reached it, the black door completely clean, in huge contrast to the dirty rock walls surrounding it. No, rather than a door, it seemed like a hole. A frighteningly dark hole, with a black so thick Kirito's eyes couldn't pierce it even if he used a skill.

"Here we are," Ashley exclaimed.

Kirito nodded.

Ashley was about to reach into the darkness with her hand when Kirito called out. "W-wait."

She looked back at him, eyes narrowing. "If you're going to tell me to stay behind, I'll beat you within the inch of your life."

"That's dangerous."

"It's fine, I carried a lot of HP potions so I could just heal you again if I do decide to beat you within the inch of your life."

Kirito shook his head. "That's not what I meant." He pointed at the rectangular black hole. "Whatever's beyond there, it wouldn't be safe for both of us."

"None of this is safe."

Of course not. But Kirito could feel something dangerous beyond that door. It wasn't based on any Skill, or even anything he knew from the game. He just felt that it was dangerous. And if he didn't trust his gut, he wouldn't be where he was standing now.

Ashley narrowed her purple eyes, and for a moment, Kirito thought she was going to explode again, maybe even challenge him to another duel.

Or at worst, throw him through that door. He really wouldn't put it past her in the less than half a day that he's known the cloaked girl.

But all she does is sigh, and pout. "Fine."

She walked past him, and Kirito made sure to prepare for a kick to his back, but she carried on until she reached the opposite wall, sitting down, still pouting, looking away.

She just stayed like that.

"A-Ashley," Kirito started.

She looked father away.

Kirito sighed. "Are you a ki—"

"I AM NOT A KID," she suddenly yelled at him, "I TURNED 21 YESTERDAY!"

"H-HUH? SERIOUSLY!?" Then act your age! "W-wait, by yesterday, you mean…"

Ashley sniffed. "It was my birthday yesterday, and I want whatever's in that room. But no one was willing to go with me, so I asked Argo if she knew anyone stupid enough to want to go with me in there."

"S-stupid—"

"And she recommended Kirito-san, since he's supposed to be strong." She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks. "But in the end he still won't go with me."

Kirito sighed, taking a seat by the wall opposite of her. In this location, they shouldn't aggro any monsters close by, if any. "I don't know what Argo told you, but I've always been a solo player."

"Even so, you've teamed up with others before, right? For certain things."

He had, but… not since that happened. He hadn't partied with anyone, hadn't even bothered being with anyone ever since that day. "I… I haven't partied with anyone in a very long time."

"Why?" she asked, more curious than mad.

Kirito, though, wasn't keen on answering why. Ashley seemed to catch onto that, and she kept silent, not choosing to pursue the issue any further. She probably figured out, at least the general image of it, the answer to her question.

"I…," Kirito muttered, "I won't let a party member die on me." His eyes meet Ashley's, completely adamant, his expression almost dark. "I don't care how strong you are, you're not going in that room while you're with me."

Perhaps it was something in his voice, but Ashley didn't react with a childish pout or a loud retort. "Then," her face seemed concerned, "how about you?"

"I'll go in that room if you really want what's in there." He managed a weak and unconvincing grin as he tried to shake off that memory of _her_. "It's your birthday, after all."

"What if you die?"

"It doesn't matter."

And all of sudden, she was in front of him, her face too close to his for comfort. "If a party member wants to die on me," she grabbed his collar roughly, "I'll kill them myself." Her expression was cold, genuinely threatening.

Those twisted words—_kill them myself_—Kirito saw no doubt in her face. She might have meant it, she might have not. He didn't know what to expect. He never knew what to expect with this girl.

Kirito turned his face away. "Just disband the party."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're annoying." She threw him down. The cloaked girl straightened, and looked at him.

"It doesn't matter how strong you are. _If you don't have the will to live or the determination to survive no matter what, death will come for you_." Kirito's eyes widened at those words. He's heard them before. He clenched his fists, but otherwise remained silent, as he had nothing to say.

_Her_ face, _her_ lips moving as they uttered her last words.

"I don't know what happened to you, but if you want to die, don't use me as an excuse." Ashley seemed to huff. "I'll disband the party when I get back. I still need it to enter."

Kirito grabbed her cloak before she entered the black door.

"What now?" she loudly said, annoyed.

"I won't let a party member die on me."

"I'm NOT going in there to die, you IDIOT!" she accentuated that last word with a punch to his face. He flew and slammed onto the wall where Ashley was earlier. "GEEZ! If there was an award for the most annoying guy to ever exist, I'll give it to you!"

Surprisingly, Kirito did manage to stop her from going in, as she walked to his side and sat there.

"Stop wasting my time. Now tell me what happened."

"If there was an award for the most unpredictable girl to exist, I'd give it to you," he muttered, a hand on his face as he massaged it. "Seriously, you're way past tsundere."

Ashley gave him a sharp look, and Kirito raised his hands. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you what happened." He faced her. "But can I ask something, though?"

"What?" Ashley's eyes narrowed.

"Why didn't you just go in after punching me?"

"Th… that's…" Ashley looked away. "It was a spontaneous decision."

"I get the feeling that's what everything is to you—"

"I was curious, and I feel like I should understand you more before I just get unreasonably angry like that."

Kirito scratched his head as he looked away. "It… it wasn't really unreasonable."

Ashley blinked as she turned her face towards him. "Will you tell me what happened now?"

A sigh, and Kirito nodded, letting a few moments of silence settle in before he started. And then he told her. About the Black Cats of the Night, about what his arrogance cost them, about Sachi.

Ashley listened intently, absorbing everything he said, from the tones of his voice to the expressions he made. A nostalgic, pained smile as he remembered how much fun he found being with them, despite the fact that he hid the fact that he was a Beater. How he took silent pride in guiding them, and how this pride ended them all.

Talking about Sachi only made him look and sound bitterer. A shy and timid girl who took to relying on Kirito, and in the end, died with everyone else in her guild. Died, even though Kirito promised to her countless times.

_"You won't die." _

_"You'll live on." _

_"You'll live until the day the game is cleared."_

But she died.

Kirito stopped talking there.

Ashley knew better than to force him to say any more.

Quiet.

Silence.

He could remember standing in that empty room. Empty, but just minutes ago, full of monsters and four other players desperately trying to fight them off. Desperately trying to live.

Her HP bar disappeared completely, but even as that happened, she reached out to him, as if to say something. Her eyes shone the glow that she still trusted him, just like she had every night she went to his room to hear his countless promises.

Her lips moved.

Kirito hummed a tune.

A tune out of season, as they were already in the middle of January.

_Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose. _

_All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. _

_Then one Christmas Eve _

_Santa came to say: _

_"Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" _

_Rudolph who was always crying, started smiling that night. _

_...To me, you'll always be like a bright star that shines and guides me from the opposite end of a dark alley. Good-bye, Kirito. It was really fortunate of me to have met you and to have been with you._

_"Thank you._

_"Good Bye."_

Those were Sachi's last words.

As if out of respect, Ashley looked away as the tears started to roll down Kirito's cheeks. This action also served to hide her own tears at seeing him cry. In the end, though, she just wrapped her arms around him.

He looked up to a whisper after several moments when his tears had stopped flowing. "You're a kind person, Kirito."

Realizing that it came from her, Ashley pulled herself back, yelping, flailing as she looked for the words to say, but instead standing up with her back to him.

_It isn't your fault._

_You should strive to survive._

_Live on. _

_Look upon this world until it ends._

He didn't need to be told those words.

"Kirito," Ashley called softly, finally finding what to say. "The only thing left for you to do is to forgive yourself.

"I… I can't help you with that." She whirled on her feet, turning to him once more. "I may not be the one who'll be with you in the end with your hand in mine, but don't doubt for a second that I'm on equal ground with you."

She bent down. "We're partners for this adventure. If neither of us have faith in the other, we'll both die." Ashley offered him her hand. "I have faith in you, Kirito."

Kirito sighed, too used to doing that in front of her now. "Fine, then," he took her hand and lifted himself up. "I'll have faith in you, too, Ashley."

Ashley grinned. "Alright, we're married."

"WH-WHAT—"

"I'm kidding, don't panic so much. Geez, you're such a kid."

"I really don't want to hear that from you."

* * *

Afterword:

I am back and with an update much faster than I expected!

I feel like I'm dragging it on too long, but that's probably a false assumption… mostly. I can and can't say not much happened in this chapter, but I was wallowing in Sachi feels.

Well, that secret room that's brought this troublesome person to Kirito comes next chapter, whatever might be in it. Please look forward to it!


End file.
